The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced significant measures to curb spam calls and prevent misuse of SMS headers and templates by entities spreading fraudulent or malicious messages. Announced on Monday, these initiatives aim to protect consumers and establish a secure messaging environment in India.
Key Measures Implemented
1. Strict Penalties for Spam Calls:
Since August 13, 2024, TRAI has enforced stringent penalties for unauthorized promotional calls. Violators may face telecom disconnection, a blacklisting period of up to two years, and restrictions on acquiring new telecom resources. As of now, over 800 entities have been blacklisted, and 1.8 million telecom resources (SIP DID/Mobile Numbers) have been disconnected.
2. Mandatory Link Whitelisting:
Beginning October 1, 2024, all URLs, APKs, and OTT links in SMS messages must be whitelisted by Access Providers, allowing only verified links to reach consumers, thus reducing the risk of exposure to harmful content. “Only safe and approved links can pass through SMS, protecting consumers from malicious sites, apps, and online threats,” stated the Ministry of Communications.
3. Blockchain Monitoring for Telemarketing Calls:
As of October 1, 2024, telemarketing calls starting with the 140xx series have been moved to the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT – Blockchain) platform for strict monitoring and control.
4. Enhanced Message Traceability:
TRAI has introduced technical solutions for Access Providers to ensure traceability of all entities (Senders/Principal Entities) involved in SMS transmission. This system tracks each entity in the message path, requiring a clearly defined Principal Entity (PE)-Telemarketer (TM) chain.
From now until November 30, 2024, PEs and TMs not complying with the PE-TM chain requirements will receive daily warnings. Starting December 1, 2024, any messages with undefined or unmatched TM chains will be rejected.
These measures by TRAI represent a significant step towards a secure, traceable, and user-friendly digital communication environment in India.
